The Journal of Jack Root
by Jack Root
Summary: Whoever reads this journal. My name is Jack Root and this is my journal. While I was writing this I was debating whether I should publish a story or a journal. That's why I decided to write a mix between the two. I am a human and this is the story of how I ended up with you, The people of Equestria. Several people and ponies that have memories of the events helped in the making.


_Hello, people… or ponies… or whoever reads this journal. My name is Jack Root and this is my journal. While I was writing this I was debating whether I should publish a story or a journal. That's why I decided to write a mix between the two. As to not confuse you, I am a human and this is the story of how I ended up with you guys. Several people and ponies that have memories of the events helped making this book in hopes of getting it published. If you can read this, that means we succeeded. Remember though, this is a real story and may not be suitable for fillies. I recommend you to be above the age of fifteen before reading this.  
_

_Now… Welcome to my story._

**Jack's Journal. Day one. By: Jack.**

"We have spotted an enemy sniper to the west of your position, Over." Jack was walking on the deserted city streets with an assault rifle, a weapon made by humans, steady in his hands. He looked around to the west, trying to spot the sniper his allies were talking about. He scanned the rooftops and at first he saw nothing, but after a short moment of searching he saw a small flash from one of the rooftops. He squinted as the flash blinded him and noticed that the "flash" was the sun's reflection in a scope, or more importantly, a sniper scope. A bullet hit the concrete wall on the building close to his left and a bang followed a few milliseconds later.

"Fuck!" He yelled as he ran for a destroyed and burning tank, a human made transportation, to avoid being hit. He jumped in behind the tank and crouched behind it. He peaked up from behind the corner of it and attempted to shoot down the threat with a few bursts of blindfire. After a few seconds of silence he quietly poked his head around the corner to see if he hit. Suddenly a bang was heard and his vision became bloody as a bullet hit him in the face. He fell to the ground, dead.

"Oh my god, Ethan! That's so unfair! Sitting on a roof while camping with a SRR? You're such a coward." He yelled at a teenager sitting next to him. The teenager laughed and waved his white controller in the air while doing so.  
"Says the one running with an ACW-R that can simply spray and pray down his targets whenever he gets hurt." The other teenager named Ethan replied.

Once upon a time there was a human. This human was a young boy who wanted nothing else but to play games or hang out all the time. He would either hang out with his best friend, Ethan, or play with Ethan and other people through something called "internet", which allowed for long distance conversations and much more, on a device known as an Xbox 360. This humans name is Jack Root. It was a strange name for a human but the name had passed down several generations without anyone changing the last name and according to Jack it was a last name like any other.

Jack was going through a difficult time on Earth, the planet inhabited by humans, since he had ran away from home and was living on the street. Ethan would let Jack stay at his house during the afternoons but every night he would go to a dumpster that he had cleared out to make a small bed. Ethan didn't dislike Jack or anything like that but he had to do this since Ethan's parents did not like Jack being in the house during night. Neither Ethan nor Jack had told them that Jack was homeless and instead Ethan said that Jack was a friend from his school. Jack was allowed to shower during the days though and Jack didn't mind being out during night since he was sixteen and felt like he could take care of himself.

Jack had been on the run during four years now. He had run away when he was twelve because his father had gotten angry when he was drunk and hit him. This only happened once but it was enough to make Jack run away. Jacks father wasn't actually a bad guy but his wife, Jacks mother, had passed away one year prior to the punch and he had dealt with the loss by drinking alcohol. Jack had actually regretted running away after just one day but when he tried going back home he was lost. He knew the address but never asked anyone for help since he had a bad feeling in his gut every time he thought about returning.

He never regretted leaving home after that though. Because after four years on the run he had met Ethan outside of an ice-cream stand while he was trying to steal one of the delicious treats. Ethan had stopped him just about as he sneaked in and stole an ice-cream cone and offered to buy him one instead. Jack quickly became friends with Ethan and after only a few minutes of talking Ethan knew his entire life story.

Jack was waiting outside of Ethan's house at the moment, waiting for him to return from school. It was a very long wait and he was very hungry. The huge summer sun that was radiating heat upon his skin didn't make the wait any more comfortable. To his pleasure though, after what felt like an eternity, Ethan finally returned on his black bike.

"Finally! What the hell took you so long!?" Jack yelled. Jack might be sixteen and Ethan fifteen but both of them had developed the bad habit of cursing.

"Hey, it's heavy traffic today!" Ethan defended with a smile before adding: "Besides, I'm very out of shape because all of the Xbox playing! The school just started so of course I'm lazy!"

Jack shook his head, smiling, before walking with Ethan as he left his bike in their bike rack. Jack had a bike of his own in the rack, but that bike was an old rusty ladies bike that he found in a river nearby. Why someone would throw a bike in a river he had no idea, but he wasn't going to waste the opportunity.

Ethan's facial expression suddenly changed from a smile to a frown as he turned to Jack.

"So, Today is the day?" he asked. It took a few seconds before Jack got what he meant but when he understood what Ethan meant he frowned as well.

"Yeah." Jack simply stated before looking into the ground. He was scared of this day, even though he had waited for it for so long. Today was the day when he was going to visit his father.

"Hey!" Ethan said before putting a hand on Jack's shoulder and smiling reassuringly.

"I'll be with you. It'll be okay. You will see." Jack sighed deeply before looking back up at Ethan. Ethan was the best and only friend Jack had ever had and the fact that Ethan would be with him to support him actually boosted his confidence a lot. Jack still knew the address to his old house and therefor knew what bus route to take to get there.

A bus is a form of transportation that is similar to a chariot with rubber wheels driven by an engine instead of ponies.

After Ethan told his parents that he would be back by the evening the duo set off towards the bus stop. It was only a three minute walk to get there and they patiently waited for the next bus while conversing with each other. They had to wait about fifteen minutes before the buss finally arrived. It would be a five mile trip to get to his old neighborhood.

****15 minutes later****

As the bus slid to a stop and the doors opened, the two boys quickly got out together with two strangers who left on the same stop.

"Ugh! I lost my feeling in my legs!" Ethan complained. Jack didn't say anything. He just had an unnerving feeling in his guts. Jack motioned towards Ethan to follow him. Ethan caught Jacks' bad mood and tried consoling him.

"Dude, don't worry! It's most likely going to be fine." He said. Jack still didn't answer and he sped up his walking tempo slightly. He still had the bad feeling in his guts and he didn't want to make this take longer than necessary.

Suddenly Jack came to a stop. Ethan who was walking absent mindedly walked right into Jack.

"Ouch. Why did you stop?" Ethan asked.

"We're here." Jack stated with fear slightly audible in his voice. They approached the old blue building that Jack talked about. As they reached the door Jack stopped before taking a deep breath and he reluctantly pressed the doorbell.

They stepped back and waited nervously for the door to open. After what felt like an eternity, but was probably just a few seconds, the door opened quickly and revealed a tall well-built man who stared down at them in what seemed like disgust.

"Yes?" he asked. Jack was stunned. This wasn't his dad!

"What do you want?" The man asked sternly when the two boys didn't make any attempt to answer.

"Uhm... I-I was supposed to visit a relative." Jack said fearfully.

"Well I don't know who the fuck you are, so how about you leave?" The man said. The boys could now feel the foul stench of alcohol. Jack knew how dangerous drunk people could be so jack tried being as polite as possible when he asked;

"I won't take long, I promise. Who lived here before you?" The man raised a brow as if it was the stupidest question he ever heard.

"It was just some alcoholic guy. I think his name was… was…" The man went silent as he tried to remember through the alcoholic mist in his brain. To jack it felt like a lifetime of fear as he waited for his father's name.

"It was Samuel Root I think." The stranger said. Jack recognized his father's name.

"What happened to him?" Jack asked hopefully. He could meet his father finally!

"He's dead. They found him in the living room. They said he died from alcoholic poisoning." The man said casually.

Jack went silent. He felt like a brick wall of mockery just hit him in the face. He felt tears form in the edge of his eyes. Ethan was by his side, not really knowing what to say. He had no idea how to console Jack's feelings at the moment.

Suddenly Jack turned and ran down the street. Ethan who was left behind, and was momentarily stunned by jacks sprint, ran after him.

"You're fucking welcome!" The stranger yelled after them as they took off. Ethan followed jack, having a hard time following jack since Jack was faster, as they dashed down the streets.

Jack followed the same path until he reached the edge of the city. He didn't care that his legs hurt like hell. He just wanted to get away from the city, from the pollution, from the pain and from his former home.

He ran under a road through a tunnel and ran towards a forest that was in front of him. As he neared the edge of it he slowed down to a walk, his energy completely spent, and slowly walked in to the forest. His mind was swarming with thoughts.

Ethan slowly caught up on Jack and now Ethan was only a couple of feet behind Jack.

"Wait up, Jack!" Ethan yelled. Jack turned around and looked at Ethan as he almost stopped completely. Ethan walked up next to Jack, panting, and put his hand on Jack's shoulder.

"I'm sorry…" Was all Ethan could say as he looked at Jack with a sympathy filled expression.  
Jack, who had reached his limit, collapsed in tears. Ethan did what he could and sat down next to Jack while doing his best to comfort his best friend.

****One hour later****

Jack was sitting down in the soft forest grass with his arms around his knees. Ethan was lying next to him in the same soft spot while staring at the clouds that passed by peacefully. Jack had come back to his senses and was now thinking about his life. Several times he could feel the stinging of tears in his eyes but he fought them back. He figured crying wasn't going to help anything.

"What time is it?" Jack asked. Jack could hear the sound of Ethan going through his pockets. Ethan sighed before angrily exclaiming:

"Fuck! I forgot my phone at home." Jack slowly checked his own pockets but realized he had forgotten his phone too.

"Same." Jack simply stated. The two boys knew it was becoming late since the sun was setting. They couldn't see the sun through the thick trees but they knew it was setting because the sky had a tint of orange and red and the forest was quickly becoming darker.

"We should go home." Jack said. Ethan agreed and the two boys reluctantly got up from their spot and started walking in the direction they came from.

After about five minutes of walking, Ethan decided to say something that had been bothering him for a minute or two.

"Shouldn't we be back by now?" Jack hadn't said anything but he had been wondering the same thing.

"Yes we should." Jack admitted. The duo stopped and looked around. The city was nowhere to be seen and they had already walked for a longer time than it was supposed to take. The sky was slightly darker now and the colorful clouds had lost some of their brighter colors. The air felt very fresh to the two boys and less polluted than the city they have been living in for so many years. Jack didn't care why. It felt good with fresh air.

"I can hear the city… I think." Ethan said. Jack tried focusing his hearing and indeed there was some sounds coming from nearby. The thick forest made them unable to see the source though.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go." Jack said in a monotone voice before sighing. The two walked towards the sounds for a short while. The closer they got, the more the trees separated. Jack, who was walking in front, abruptly stopped. Ethan once again wasn't prepared and was in his own world and therefore walked into Jack.

"Ouch. Fucking dejá vú. Why did you stop?" Ethan moaned. Jack didn't answer and he was staring into the distance as if in a trance. Ethan confusedly looked towards where Jack was looking. He was shocked by the sight he was met with.

Several colorful… "Creatures" were walking around in a small village. The creatures could only be described as horseish although they were smaller and had facial features that was distinguishable from the distance that Ethan and Jack was standing. Jack recovered from the shock first and grabbed Ethan's arm and pulled him in behind a thick berry-covered bush.

"Holy fuck, dude!" Ethan yelled in a hushed voice.

"We are NOT in America." Jack, who was pale as a ghost, added. Ethan was breathing heavily as well as Jack.

"What do we do now? I don't remember wanting to go to fucking Narnia or something!" Ethan asked franticly. Jack who was not answering was thinking to himself.

"I don't know! It's not like I'm familiar with these situations!" Jack responded. They both decided to try to figure out what to do and so they both sat in silence while thinking. After a short moment Ethan figured out an idea.

"We are too far away from the forest to go back. We might only be a few meters out of it but it was pure luck we were not spotted while standing there like fools. I think we should hide here." He said. Jack didn't mind hiding for a while and therefore he accepted the idea without complaining or arguing. And so, the two settled in a comfortable position behind the bush.

****30 minutes later****

Jack woke up quickly as Ethan shook his body. The first thing Jack saw as he opened his eyes was Ethan putting a hand over Jack's mouth before putting a finger across his own lips with the other hand. Jack quickly realized why when he heard the voices nearby. It was now completely dark but Jack could still hear a couple of voices really close to their position.

Jack held his breath as Ethan let go of his mouth and slowly became fully alert to the situation. There were a couple of voices nearby that seemed to belong to three individuals. All three seemed to be young by the pitch of the voices. Jack looked towards their location. There were indeed three small individuals of the horseish species that looked very feminine from their physical appearance, Although, Jack wasn't too sure since they hadn't seen any other of the creatures this close.

Jack slowly exhaled as to not make any sound. The three younglings were speaking a different language than Jack or Ethan had ever heard before. The language sounded sort of Asian but contained a lot of different clicking sounds as well as short hissing noises. The trio was walking towards the boys seemingly oblivious to the fact that they were only a few meters away from each other.

Jack tried slowly backing up, away from the creatures, but put down his hand a little too fast as he had crawled backwards.

***CRACK***

Jack had his eyes shut and was holding his breath again. Ethan was looking at him with wide eyes. Jack had put his hand down on a dry twig and caused it to break loudly.

The three creatures had stopped and became silent. They were doing their best to locate the boys in the dark. One of the three creatures, who had white fur and a horn in its head, was stuttering something in their weird language towards Jack and Ethan. One of the other two, with orange fur and two similar colored wings, stood in front of the two other creatures and said something towards the boys in a tone that sounded like a question. It had an angry expression visible but was scanning the area which meant they couldn't see the boys.

When the boys didn't say anything the last creature, with pale orange colored fur that had neither wings nor a horn, said something else in a nervous tone. The three beings slowly and carefully approached the boys. Jack made his decision.

"Run, Ethan!" He yelled and Ethan reacted immediately and sprung from his sitting position into a full sprint towards the forest. The three creatures screamed and ran the opposite direction. A couple of ponies with a big glowing light came around the corner of a house. They were dressed in armor and had probably heard the children's scream. The bright light shone and made it impossible for the boys to hide. All this happened in a split second.

Jack, who was lying down, had a harder time getting up on his feet and the adrenaline made him stumble and fall once before getting on his feet. When he had finally got onto his feet the armored horses had gotten very close and were yelling something in their language. Jack kept his eyes on Ethan's back as Ethan came to the edge of the forest and disappeared into it. Jack ran as fast as he could towards the same place. He was so close to the forest that he could smell the leaves and hear see the thick foliage.

Suddenly something smacked in to his back, hard, and sent something that felt like a lot of electricity flowing through his body. Jack fell to the ground as he felt his muscles spasm and he screamed from the intense pain. Someone bound his feet together but he couldn't fight back. He felt himself being dragged in the dirt towards the village as warmth overtook his body and his world faded into darkness.

**Day one, End.**


End file.
